Tension-measuring device.



L. S. BURBANK.

TENSION MEASURING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 23, l9l6.

1,21 1,820, Patented Jan. 9, 1917.

\nventor. Louis $.BurbunK.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. LOUIS S. B URBANK, OF ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO 'DBAPEB CORPORATION, OF HOPEDALE, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORA- TION OF .MAINE.

TENSION-MEASURING DEVICE.

Application filed February 2a, 1916. Serial No. 79,887.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS S. BURBANK, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Hopedale, county of Worcester, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Tension-Measuring Devices, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification, like characters on the drawing representing like parts.

This invention relates to improvements in devices for measuring both the quantity and quality of the tension imposed upon a strand of flexible material and is particularly designed with a view to determining the tension upon a running strand of yarn, such for example as the strand running from a bobbin or other yarn carrier toa yarn receiver upon which the strand is being wound, it being however, capable of broader application to determine the tension upon any strand or groups of strands of flexible material.

In the operation of certain textile machines such as spoolers and other yarn winding machines having tension applied to the running strands of yarn it is found that there is a considerable variation in the amount of tension placed upon the strands running to the various spools so that not only are the spools lacking in uniformity of winding but in many instances a considerable amount of power is wasted by reason of the fact that the tension upon the yarn is too great. Furthermore in ordinary tension devlces in which the yarn passesthrough a slot or over a corner or around pins set in staggered relation there is considerable variation in tension due to irregularities in the yarn, to the change in the speed of the running yarn as the spool fills up and the difl'erence in the thickness of the yarn and other conditions. Such variation affects the quality of the tension and the character of the winding upon the spool. This variation in tension upon the yarn is in a great measure eliminated by thevuse of the spooler device used in my co-pending application Ser. No. 79,866, filed Feb. 23, 1916, in which the variations in tension are reduced to a minimum departure from the average or mean tension.

I One of the objects of the present invention is to (provide means which may be readthe running strands so that the tension ma be regulated to produce uniformity in win .ing upon the spools and thereby avoiding loss of power from too great tension upon the running strands.

Another object of the invention is to rov1de means for indicating the quality 0 the tension so that the tension device may be adjusted to avoid in so far as may be, inconvenlence resulting from the above mentioned conditions.

These objects are accomplished in the preferred form of the invention disclosed herein by providing an instrument which may be carried conveniently by the operator and applied to the running strands of yarn, and which by bending the strand under a predetermined pressure will measure the amount of deflection of the strand and consequently the tension which bears a constant ratio to said deflection, said device being also adapted to indicate the quality of the tension by the extent of its vibration upon either side of the mean or average tension.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which;

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a tension measuring device, and Fig. 2 is a side View of the same, a portion of the frame or casing being broken away to show the adjusting spring which actuates the movable strand engaging member.

The invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings comprises means for en gaging opposite sides of a strand of flexible materlal which may be either a stationary strand or a running strand, the members being relatively yieldable under a predetermined pressure to flex or bend the strand, the amount of deflection of the strand being measured by an indicator attached to one of the strand engaging members and cooperating with a scale carried by the other member.

It will readily be understood that such device may either be permanently aflixed to the machine so as to indicate the tension at all times or may be in the form of a portable device .adapted to be carried by the operator Patented Jan. 9, 1917. g

and applied to any strand of which it is desirable to measure the tension, a convenient form of such portable device being illustratcd inthe accompanying drawings. TlllS device may conveniently comprise a casing consisting of two complementary halves l and 2, the lower portion being recessed so that when assembled they will form an open substantially rectangular body, the lower walls 3 and 4 of which abut tightly. The upper walls preferably are provided with extensions 5, 6, one of which is provided with a boss 7 causing the parts 5, 6 to be separated slightly to form a recess for a suitable index which will hereinafter be described. The upper portions 5 and 6 of the casing or frame may conveniently be connected by a screw 9 passing through the easing extension 5 and engaging a suitable screw threaded aperture 8 in the boss 7.

One of the casing extensions, as 6, desirably is substantially longer than the other and provided with a scale 10, the other extension 5, being conveniently provided with a curved top 11 to expose the end of the indicator which runs over the scale 10.

.The lower portion of the frame or casing is provided with laterally extending strand engaging members 12, 13, preferably in the form of studs having concaved surfaces 14 adapted to form a guide for the yarn, the upper portion of these studs being located at a convenient distance above the lower walls 3 and 4 of the casing. The other flange engaging member desirably is in the form of a lever 15, having a rounded or cylindrical end 16 adapted to engage the strand of flexible material, extending substantially beyond the front of the frame or casing midway between and in cooperative relation to the studs 12 and 13. The lever 16 is provided with a transverse pintle or shaft 17 pivotally mounted in suitable hearings in the casing and the opposite end of the lever is connected to a pressure applying medium preferably in the form of a helical spring 18 but which may be of any other form of force applying device.

In order that the measuring device may be adjusted accurately to zero means are desirably provided for varying the position of the spring 18. As illustrated in the present embodiment of the invention this means comprises a screw 19 seated in a boss 20 on one of the casing members and having a head 21 rotatably connected to a cap 22 having a depending lug 23 apertured to receive the end of the spring 18. ,The screw 21 may conveniently be slotted at its upper end to provide for adjustment, and provided with a set nut 24 adapted to be screwed down upon the upper end of the lug 20 to maintain the screw in adjusted position.

In order to provide for the convenient measurement of the amount of deflection the lever may be caused to actuate a suitable index, which desirably, may he in the form of a relatively long finger adapted to multiply the amount of deflection of the lever and to indicate it upon the scale 10.

Inasmuch as it is desirable that the instrument shall be sensitive, the lever 15 and the index should be constructed of as light material as possible. Consequently the lever 15 may be constructed of wood and the index may be in the form of a triangular sheet 25 of light material clamped in or otherwise secured to the. lever, the apex of the triangle forming an index finger adapted to travel over the scale 10. The central portion of the triangular index desirably is provided with an elongated aperture 26 to receive the boss 7, said aperture being of such length as to give free movement to the index finger.

In order further to assure the maintenance of the index upon the scale the lever may be so positioned that when the index is at zero the end of the lever will rest upon the lower portions 3, 4 of the frame as indicated.

In-the operation of the device, the strand of yarn of which the tension is to be measured or tested is caused to pass over the studs 12, 13 and beneath the end 16 of the lever 15, the deflection of the strand of thread being measured by the position of the index upon the scale 10 and the quality of the tension by the fluctuations of the same.

In order to provide for the ready application of the measuring device to the strand of flexible material the lower walls 3, 4 of the frame are provided with an aperture 27 through' which the operator may thrust the finger to engage the lever and raise it enough to permit the end of the lever to pass over the strand to be measured while the studs 12, 13 pass beneath the strand. By this construction it will be obvious that the operator can rapidly measure the tension of the various running strands of yarn in a spooling or other textile machine and by adjusting the tension upon the respective strands maintain a uniform desired tension throughout all of the units of the machine thereby providing a uniform winding on all of the spools and also preventing wastage of power which otherwise would be consumed by units upon which the thread is wound at too great a tension.

It will be understood that the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings and described herein is illustrative merely and that other forms and constructions may be used within the scope of the following claims. It will also be apparent that the relative initial or zero location of the three deflecting surfaces may be varied to facilitate the establishing of a convenient scale; such for instance as to deflect the yarn 30 at which point the pull on the movable surface, being twice the sine of 30 is, theoretically, just equal to the pull on the yarn.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is;

1. A device for measuring the tension upon a strand of flexible material comprising a frame having a plurality of stationary strand engaging members, a spring actuated lever located intermediate of said stationary members and adapted to engage and bend said strand, and an index connected to said lever adapted to multiply the amount of deflection and by its extent of movement and amplitude of vibration to indicate the amount and character of the tension.

2. A device for measuring the tension upon a strand of flexible material comprising a frame having two relatively stationary members spaced apart and adapted to enga e one side of the strand, a spring actuatd strand engaging lever located midway between said members and adapted to engage the opposite side of the strand and bend the same, and indicating means operatively connected to said lever.

3. A device for measuring the tension upon a strand of flexible material comprising a frame having two relatively stationary members spaced apart and adapted to 'en-' gage one side of said strand, a lever located midway between said stationary members and adapted to engage the opposite side of the strand, an adjustable spring for actuating said lever and an index operatively connected to said lever cooperating with a scale upon said frame.

4. A device for measuring the tension upon a strand comprising a frame having a relatively large base portion and upwardly disposed parallel extensions slightly spaced.

apart, one of said extensions bearing a scale and the other extenslon being cut away to expose said scale to view, two studs upon said base portion adapted to engage one side of a strand of flexible material, a lever pivotally mounted intermediate of said strands adapted to engage the opposite side of said strand and an index in the form of a triangular sheet of light material connected to said lever and located intermediate of said extensions, the apex of said sheet forming a finger adapted to cooperate with said scale.

5. A device for measuring the tension upon a strand of flexible material comprising a frame having two relatively stationary members spaced apart adapted to engage one side of said strand, a lever adapted at one end to engage the opposite side of said strand and having its opposite end connected to a helical spring, means adjustably securing said helical spring to said frame and an index connected to said lever located in operative relation to a scale carried by said frame.

6. A device for measuring the tension upon a strand of flexible material comprising a frame having two relatively stationary members spaced apart adapted to engage one side of said strand, a lever adapted at one end to engage the opposite side of said strand and having its opposite end connected to a helical spring, means adjustably securing said helical spring to said frame and an index connected to said lever located in operative relation to a scale carried by LOUIS sf BURBANK. 

